Cleaner who stole from dead patients at Cambridgeshire mental hospital is jailed for five months

A hospital cleaner who stole medicines and bank cards from dead patients has been jailed.

Erika Pusnyte, 32, worked at the Cavell Centre - a mental health unit - in Bretton Gate, Peterborough.

Staff at the centre began noticing items going missing between July and October last year.

Among the items going missing from the hospital and patients included medical supplies, drugs, and bank cards.

Police were called to the unit last October to take statements from staff, at which point Pusnyte started to act suspiciously, said Cambridgeshire Police.

She was searched and found to be in possession of amphetamine and a stolen bank card. During the investigation it was found she had taken several items from patients who had died.  

Pusnyte, of Taverners Road, Peterborough, pleaded guilty to six counts of theft, fraud by false representation and possession of a class B drug.

She was jailed at Peterborough Crown Court and jailed for five months.

PC Malachi Creedon said: “Pusnyte abused her position of trust while working at the hospital site. Not only were her actions morally wrong but also constituted several serious offences against vulnerable victims.”

Earlier this week a man was jailed for nine years for stealing thousands of pounds worth of personal items from hospital staff, as they tried to deal with the demands of covid.